Material for purifying gas and process for manufacturing the same



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. HUTCHINSON, OF ASPINWALL, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR'TO JAMES F.

HENDERSON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MATERIAL FOR PUBIl IFYING GAS AND ERDGESS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME.

No Drawing. Application filed February 15, 1919, Serial No. 277,306. Renewed August 27, 1920. Serial e No. 408,523.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN E. HUTCHINSON, a citizenof the United States, and residing in the borough of Aspinwall, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,

have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Materials for Purifying Gas and Processes for Manufacturing plishedby passing the gas through boxes loaded with a material which takes up the im urities.

n the most common practice of today, this purifying material is formed by mixing hydrated oxid of iron, or some other substance which has an affinity for sulfur, with a vegetable fluifing material, such as wood shavlngs, planer chips, saw dust, corn cobs, &c., using moisture as a bond.

This composite material is open to numerous objections. Thus it is inflammable and subject to spontaneous combustion; the heat of the gas absorbs the moisture, breaking the bond and permitting the oxid of iron to drop'down into the bottom of the boxes and pack, thus interfering with the free passage of the gas; also the valuable elements deposited by the gas cannot be readily recovered, owin to the contaminationcaused by the vegeta le substances. Where the moisture is not evaporated, the material tends to become soggy or colloidal, thus resisting the passage of the gas.

Ithas been proposed to use porous blast furnace slag as the flufling material, but as moisture is still relied upon as the bond, the oxid of iron exhibits the same tendency to loosen and pack in the bottom of the boxes. Moreover, blast furnace slag is obtainable only in certain limited localities throughout the world where blast furnaces are situated, and therefore the limited supply of slag'and the excessivecost of transportation for long distances prevent the substitution ofvslag for vegetable materia 55 becoming general.

The object which I have in view istheiron; silica sand, sand rock granules or particles; a calcareous cement, and water, and

thus form a porous concrete'mass. I have successfully used four parts of oxid of iron; three parts of sand; one part of cement and sufficient water to form an easily worked mortar. These elements are thoroughly mixed together and allowed to set. The sand imparts poroslty to the concrete, which characteristic may be increased by the presence in the sand of small, gravel or particles of sand rock.

After setting, the concrete mass is broken into fragments none of which should, preferably, be more than an inch in their greatest dimension.

These-fragments are then loaded into the boxes in the usual manner and the gas passed through the same.

The porosity of the purifying material together with the interstices between the fragments of concrete permit of the rapid passage of the gas and efi'ect the complete elimination of its impurities.

The incorporation of the oxid of iron, or its equivalent, in the concrete insures the permanency of the bond, so that there is no anger of acking or clo ging of the material in the bottom of the oxes. The ability of the material to stand up and to maintain its open, porous character make packin or'clogging impossible, so that the materia retains its full efficiency until, after repeated uses, it becomes saturated with-the deposited impurities. After such saturation, the valuable elements deposited by the gas may be readily recovered from the composite material without loss and in a pure state.

If desired, the broken concrete fragments may be wetted and mixed, with an additional quantity of the oxid of iron before loading into the boxes, thus greatly enrich- 11c Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

ing the purifying'qualities of the material. Or, I may, omit the oxid of iron from the mix which forms the concrete," and then dampen the concrete fragments and mix the same with the oxid of iron before loading the material into the boxes. I prefer, however, to use the material having an afiinity for sulfur as one of the elements of the concrete mix, thus obtaining a better incorporation of the same throughout the mass of material'andinsuring a permanentbond.

Cement is now largely manufactured throughout the wor1d, and its distribution commercially practically universal, so that the purif ing material may be cheaply manufacture excessive transportation costs which are unavoidable in the case of material obtainable only in certain confined localities. 1 v Myimproved purifying material is absoanywhere, thereby avoiding the sulfur and lutely fireproof, and can not become soggy or colloidal.

\Vhat I desire to claim is 1. A purifying material for gas comprisin a porous concrete formed of cement, silica and hydrated oxid of iron.

2. A purifying material for gas com risinga porous concrete mass formed 0 cement, silica and hydrated oxid of iron broken into fragments.

3. The process of manufacturing a material for purifying gas which consists in mixing cement, sllica and hydrated oxid of iron in Water to form a porous concrete mass, reducing the set mass to fragments, and mixing the fragments with an additional quantity of the substance having an aflinity for suflicient'wate'r to form a bond.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Pa.,' this 8th day of February, 1919.

JOHN E. HUTCHINSON. 

